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Rear Extension Approval Rates in East Hertfordshire

Rear extensions are the bread and butter of UK planning — and one of the most common reasons homeowners face a refusal. Here's what 5,461 real decisions tell us about rear extension outcomes in East Hertfordshire.

5,461 real decisions·January 2020 to October 2026·Updated October 2026
78.8%
Approval Rate
5,461
Decisions
4,305
Approved
1,156
Refused
78.8% approved. But 1,156 refused since 2020. Each refusal cost the homeowner time and money on drawings and application fees. Understanding your local data before you apply is the difference between confidence and a costly gamble.

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Why rear extension approval rates matter

Rear extensions sit in the middle of the pack nationally. They're common enough that councils have clear precedent — but that cuts both ways. If your neighbours have been refused, that precedent works against you too.

These are council averages. Your property is specific.

Two houses on the same street can get different outcomes.
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How rear extensions compare to other project types

Not all applications are treated equally. Here's how rear extensions stack up against other common projects in East Hertfordshire.

TypeDecisionsRate
Conservatory1,086
82.8%
Rear Extension5,461
78.8%
Wraparound Extension539
78.1%
Loft Conversion989
75.5%
Extension (General)699
75.4%
Front Extension1,085
75.1%
Outbuilding1,463
74.4%
Side Extension3,061
74.2%
Dormer1,700
74.2%
Basement239
73.2%
Garage / Parking4,359
71.3%
Hip-to-Gable Conversion225
71.1%
HMO20
70.0%
Annex355
64.2%
Flat Conversion41
63.4%
Change of Use (Residential)1,063
63.0%
New Build1,306
62.6%
See how this applies to your postcode →

What the data tells us

1
78.8% of rear extension applications in East Hertfordshire get approved. That means 1,156 homeowners since 2020 have been refused. Not terrible odds, but not a foregone conclusion.
3
Council averages are starting points, not guarantees. The decisions that matter most are the comparable ones near your specific property — because planning officers look at precedent, character and the immediate context of your street.

Before you spend £5,000+ on architects and drawings

1,156 rear extension applications in East Hertfordshire have been refused since 2020. Many of those homeowners had already paid for drawings and application fees. A free, property-specific report shows you what gets approved — and what gets refused — near your property.

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Free · Property report emailed in minutes · Based on 3,850,000+ real decisions

More East Hertfordshire planning data

Nearby councils rear extension data

Methodology: Based on 5,461 planning decisions classified as rear extensions in East Hertfordshire, January 2020 to October 2026. Classification uses keyword matching against proposal descriptions (matching generate_site_data.py rules). A single application may appear in multiple categories. Approval rate = approved / (approved + refused). Pending, withdrawn and invalid applications excluded. Data from East Hertfordshire Council's public planning portal. Full methodology →
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